If you are following me on Twitter, chances are you already know I migrated my blog from WordPress to Hashnode. The tweet below shows my announcement of moving to Hahshnode:
https://twitter.com/catalinmpit/status/1293569954118340609
Therefore, in this article, I want to shine some light on why I chose to leave WordPress, and become part of the Hashnode community.
Why moving away from WordPress?
As you might know, or not, I am a big fan of WordPress. The reasons are that:
- it is easy to use
- it is free
- there are lots of free themes available
- there are integrations with almost any service available on the internet
... and many more.
However, it can be very bloated, slow, and overkill for a technical blog. For instance, to add code snippets to my articles, I had to install a special plugin. Then, every time I wanted to add a code snippet to an article, I had to:
- go to the plugin settings
- select the language of the code snippet
- create a name and a description for the snippet
- choose a tag
- write the code
- save the snippet
- embed the snippet into the article
Thus, to add a snippet of code, I need to follow seven steps. Now let us say I have to embed five code snippets. As a result, I have to do thirty-five extra steps! Moreover, I did not have any control over my snippets, and I could not customise the design.
Anyway, the above is just an example to show you laborious some tasks can be in WordPress. I decided enough is enough, and I started to look for alternatives, as shown by the tweet below.
https://twitter.com/catalinmpit/status/1293486413099540486
What Is The Best Alternative?
I believe there is not the best alternative because everyone has different needs and use cases. However, for my use case, I had to choose between:
- Hashnode
- Gatsby + MDX
Even though I love Gatsby blogs, and the level of customisation they allow, it can be very time-consuming to create such a blog. And then you have to maintain it too. Therefore, the only option left was Hashnode.
Why Hashnode?
The thing that attracts me the most to Hashnode is that it combines both worlds of a dynamic blog like a WordPress blog and a static site like a Gatsby blog. It has more features than a static blog, but it is less-bloated than a WordPress blog.
Besides that, you get to be part of an awesome and fantastic community. It is one of the most supportive communities I have ever been involved in, and they do not pay me to say this. It is my opinion.
Other reasons why I prefer Hashnode:
- AMP pages => The blog is very fast on mobile, and poor internet.
- Publishing articles is swift and easy => You write your articles in Markdown. Also, you can easily embed YouTube videos, tweets, content from other sites, and so on.
- Free SSL certificate => How cool is that? You do not have to pay anything for the certificate.
- Your domain => You can use your domain for your blog. You are not tied to a blog URL like
pit.hashnode.dev. - Back up your articles on GitHub => Do you want to migrate to another platform? Well, you are not locked on Hashnode. They provide you with the opportunity of backing up your articles on GitHub in a JSON format. As a result, you can switch platforms without losing your content.
- I can talk straight to the founders => How cool is that I can speak straight with the people that founded the platform? I cannot do this with WordPress, Dev To, Medium, and other platforms. If I have feedback or ideas, I can pitch them. (that does not mean I bother them all day long)
- Discord server => I already said that they have a great, tight, supportive community. Thus, they have an exclusive Discord server with all the people using Hashnode, including the founders. You can exchange ideas, ask questions, and many more. Check it out!
In conclusion, these are the reasons why I choose to use and become part of the Hashnode community. If you have other good reasons, feel free to drop them in the comments.
Conclusion
I hope the article makes it clear why I chose Hashnode and why it can be an excellent choice for anyone. I want to emphasise again that I did not get paid to move to Hashnode or write this article.